Secondment #10: Julia

Our fellow Julia is telling us about her second secondment that she completed in May. Julia is doing her PhD project at the Aix-Marseille University, Institute of Movement Science and had the opportunity to visit the Stade Marseillais Université Club (S.M.U.C.), Marseille, France.

During April and May, I completed a two-month secondment at the Stade Marseillais Université Club (SMUC) in Marseille, France. SMUC is a long-established multi-sport club offering a wide range of activities for people of all ages. With the invaluable help of SMUC coordinator Isabelle Petit, I was able to recruit a cohort of healthy, physically active older adults – the main target group of my research project. This allowed me to collect data on-site for my first experimental study, which investigates how attentional investment influences adaptability and motor variability in older adults performing a cyclic bimanual coordination task. 

 

Meeting participants and working in a real-life sports setting helped me develop my practical research skills and deepen my understanding of the role of physical activity in healthy ageing. The secondment also allowed me to establish a strong collaboration with SMUC, which will support the next stages of my PhD research and facilitate future experiments. Although I already live in Marseille, this experience gave me a new perspective on the city and the many opportunities it offers for staying active at any age. Completing my first-ever experimental study made the secondment especially valuable, contributing to both my research and personal development.  I am truly grateful to my supervisors, Jean-Jacques Temprado and Rita Sleimen-Malkoun, and to the TReND network for making this opportunity possible.